Last week the provincial government passed legislative amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act and the Planning Act, as set out in the Budget Measures Act (Bill 229), which are intended to:

• Improve consistency and transparency of the programs and services that CAs deliver;         
• Provide additional oversight for municipalities and the province; and
• Streamline CA permitting and land use planning reviews to increase accountability, consistency and transparency.

A summary of the legislative amendments is below (from www.ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-2646):

• Revise the objects of CAs (i.e., the range of activities conservation authorities are allowed to undertake) to reflect the three categories of programs and services that the CA  is currently authorized to deliver under the Conservation Authorities Act over the area over which it has jurisdiction:
• 1. Core mandatory programs and services described above
  2. The programs and services which conservation authorities deliver on behalf of a municipality pursuant to a memorandum of understanding or agreement, and
  3. The programs and services that a conservation authority delivers to further the purposes of the Conservation Authorities Act
• Enable the minister to, by regulation, establish standards and requirements for the delivery of non-mandatory programs and services.
• Integrate the current power of a CA to “cause research to be done” with the CA’s current power to study and investigate the watershed in order to support the programs and services the conservation authority delivers.
• Remove the authority for CAs to expropriate lands. CAs would have the ability to request either the Province or a municipality expropriate land.
• Require CAs to follow generally accepted accounting principles.
• Require CAs to make key documents publicly available online.
• Have all municipal levy appeals be heard by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT).
• Require participating municipalities to appoint municipal councillors as CA members and that municipally appointed members generally act on behalf of their municipalities.
• Enable the minister to delegate some of their duties and powers under the Conservation Authorities Act, for example to a ministry official.

The province made further changes to the Conservation Authorities Act to streamline the role of CAs in permitting and land use planning as well to ensure timely decisions are made in relation to permits required under section 28 of the Act including:

• Authorize the Minister of MNRF to issue an order to take over and decide an application for a permit under section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act in place of the CA.
• Allow an applicant, within 30 days of a CA issuing a permit, with or without conditions, or denying a permit, to request the minister to review the CA’s decision.
• Where the minister has taken over a permit application or is reviewing a permit decision by a CA, allow an applicant to appeal directly to LPAT where the minister fails to make a decision within 90 days.
• In addition to the provision to seek a minister’s review, provide the applicant with the ability to appeal a permit decision to LPAT within 90 days after the CA has made a decision.
• Where a permit is cancelled, allow the permit holder to appeal the cancellation to LPAT within 90 days.
• Allow applicants to appeal directly to LPAT where a CA fails to make a decision on section 28 permit applications within 120 days.
• Provide permit applicants with the ability to appeal permit fees charged by a CA to LPAT.
• Remove the un-proclaimed provisions for CAs to be able to issue stop work orders and retain the current enforcement tools, such as laying charges and potential court injunctions.

The provincial government also made an amendment to the Planning Act to add CAs to subsection 1 (2) of the Planning Act. This amendment makes CAs part of the Province’s one window planning approach. This means that a CA can not, as a public body under that Act, appeal a decision to LPAT or become a party to an appeal before LPAT. Municipalities and the Province can continue to work with CAs and rely on their advice and support where they want it during an LPAT appeal.

A number of additional amendments were made through the Standing Committee process, including a new section added to Schedule 6 that requires a CA to issue a permit when the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing issues Ministers Zoning Orders (MZO). Additional amendments regarding Board governance were made to ensure that at least 70% of CA appointees are selected from among the members of a municipal council as well as other amendments regarding stop work orders. Furthermore, amendments allow CAs to appeal or be party to an appeal as a public body, under certain provisions of the Planning Act in the context of prescribed natural hazards matters.

MECP will be posting additional regulatory proposals for public feedback in 2021 on a series of regulations and policies to further support the goals of the review of CAs. The Province is creating a working group to help implement changes to CAs. Hassaan Basit, President and CEO of Conservation Halton will chair the new group which will provide input on the development of proposed regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act, and on how CAs are governed.